Coven
by fanaticalParadox
Summary: After losing an arm and her sister to a school shooter, Yang is left depressed and alone- until she meets a short, mute medium named Neo who can bring her sister back to life. Of course, in exchange Yang must join the Coven of Salem- where she'll meet the weirdest bunch possible. Can she bring Ruby back, or is she in over her head?
1. Prologue

RWBY: Coven Prologue

Author's note: hey so I'm updating a bunch of my fanfics and decided to write a new RWBY one. THIS DOES NOT HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH AHS' COVEN. IT'S WAY DIFFERENT. JS. Enjoy (*disclaimer*)

Prologue

Yang

When the first shots were fired, a cold feeling of dread fell over the classroom. The other students gasped and began panicking, Yang stayed calm. The professor went rigid, racing over to the door as quickly as his legs would let him, Yang couldn't panic. She felt that cold dread seep into the pores of her skin, that inward shiver. She couldn't panic though.

Her best friends, Weiss and Blake (who everyone knew were totally dating but they still hid it for no good reason) held onto each other in a last embrace, desperate to communicate everything they had yet to communicate. Blake shook and Weiss cried and Yang sat there, eyes scanning the room hoping that what was happening wasn't happening.

Professor Port had turned off the lights and called 911, tapping his foot rapidly. Nobody had picked up.

Ren and Nora were snuggled next to each other under a desk. Jaune and Pyrrha were rushing other students into a closet.

Bullies Cardin and Russell seemed the least composed of everyone. Good riddance.

But as Yang absorbed the scene, she realized that the only person she had yet to see panicking was the most important.

Ruby.

Lilac eyes widened and fists clenched. No way in hell was this happening. This was a nightmare, projecting her fear of abandonment in the form of a missing little sister during a time of crisis. Right? Right.

The next few actions she took were taken in the assumption that this was just a big joke.

Get up. Ignore the fear in the room.

"Yang what the hell are you doing?"

Ignore them. Forget them. Ruby.

She had gone to the bathroom. Raised her hand and everything. She hadn't gone during lunch because she had promised to help Jaune with his homework, Pyrrha had to do something. It wasn't her fault. She'd feel better if there was someone to blame.

Yang could only imagine the fear running through her sister at the moment. She didn't want to see it, her sister silently crying in a bathroom stall, knees brought up close to her face, feet struggling not to fall under the stall door.

Open the door, who cares if it's locked anyways? Guns can get through glass and wood.

Two lefts and a right. She knew this route, the skip-class-via-bathroom route. Light steps. They can't catch you if they don't know where you are.

She slinks comically against the walls of lockers. Ruby loved spy movies, they suck cookies all the time when they were little just like this. Back against wall, quiet and in full control. The only consequence then was being caught and sent to bed though, not a bullet in your skull. She tried not to remember that.

Just a dream. Find Ruby.

She had to get to the bathroom. That was ingrained further into her mind as a second batch of bullets ripped through the air somewhere else in the school. They were louder this time. But dreams do that. They don't make sense. The shooter could be a mile away, and the sounds would still reach her ears.

You could continue lying to yourself, or find Ruby.

She accepted at this point that this was probably not a dream, but any fear for her life was subsided by adrenaline and the need to get to the bathroom and back to the classroom, sister in tow. There were no second thoughts.

What if she's already dead?

She couldn't be dead. Yang would know if her little sister was dead. That's something you feel, spiritually, right? Like how Ruby knew about Summer before we did. Right.

Then again, Ruby had always known things like that. She was special.

She is also going to die if you don't stop worrying.

She turned the final corner, looking both ways at least 30 times. It was right there, the bathrooms. Just another 20 or so feet.

Crouching, she kept her hand just barely grazing the wall in front of her. Kept the wall to her back. She was of average height and made of muscle, but she now slunk into herself like a cat. She remembered how Blake would practice gymnastics. Light on her feet and like water.

Almost there. Only a few feet. There.

She slipped in through the door and walked into the bathroom.

She was met by an onslaught of hot bathroom air. The public school didn't have enough budget to air condition the gym or bathrooms apparently.

"Ruby?" she whisper-shouted, and in return got a shaky whimper from behind the handicap stall. It was always like her sister to want the biggest stall "with the sink and everything". In this case, it was better for her, since it was harder to tell she was there, since another stall shrouded half of it.

Yang crawled underneath the stall door immediately, as fast as she possibly could. She met her sister's eyes, puffy and full of tears.

Oh thank god.

"Ruby!" Yang runs to the silver eyed girl currently crying on the toilet seat and embraces her strongly, in return, Ruby grips the back of Yang's shirt weakly. She was so scared. It was only then that Yang understood that this was actually happening.

Okay. I have to get her out.

Yang then separated from her sister, who's hands were almost white, that's how hard they were gripping the shirt. "Ruby let's get out of here, back to the classroom, it's farther away from whoever's shooting."

Ruby's eyes immediately fill with panic, as if to say that is the worst idea I have ever heard. She still nods her head slowly, pale face blotchy with red spots from her crying and panicking.

"Don't worry, I've got you."

Yang stands up, extending her hand to Ruby, helping her regain balance before unlocking the stall door and running, their hands clasped together.

Run. Run. Run.

One right, two lefts. Two lefts. One left.

They had managed to get to the locker filled hallway. Backs no longer to the wall, running as fast as possible. But there he was, facing them, gun pointed straight at them.

She expected the shooter to be some emo or nerdy kid who had had enough of the shit in his life. Someone bullied. Someone who had a reason.

The man here had no reason. He wore a mask, but Yang could make out two glowing red eyes behind it. He was glowing himself. Buzzing with sadistic evil. Brown and red spiky hair complimenting two bull horns on his head. He was not human. Or she was in hell already.

The first shot went through her arm. Blood immediately began exploding from the wound. It hurt. It burned. The pain was mind numbing, white hot, worse than anything she had previously experienced.

What she was about to experience, on the other hand* was much worse.

The second bullet swam through the air in what seemed like slow motion, pointed tip penetrating Ruby's skull directly between the eyes. Those silver eyes, so full of fear.

When she finally hit the floor, blood pooling from her head. It matched her hoodie. So much red.

Yang saw red.

*puns lol

Neo

She practically skipped through the dimly lit halls, strawberry and chocolate hair trailing behind her, twirling into one big cowlick. She looked at the candles lighting the violet hallway. If it was up to her, she would've installed some nice electric lighting- maybe disco lights. Disco lights were a stretch but Roman always told her to think big.

She looked down at the letter in her hands. Black paper, red text. Universal colors of "bad fucking news". She had been in an ice cream shop, happily perusing her choices (even though she had already chosen. She never needed to choose, since she knew that she was going to get neopolitan no matter what, she just liked making her ice cream trips a big deal), when the black envelope magically appeared in her wallet. It only read: top priority.

Well woop-dee-fucking-doo, a vauge interruption of her most precious moment of the week. She'd take it out on Emerald later anyways, but she still desired an explanation other than "Top Priority"

She was a witch, not James Bond... Though now that she thought about it, Mercury could pull that off. But she wasn't Mercury, and she wasn't okay with being summoned to a top priority event when she already had a top priority. Ice cream. Ice cream was her top priority.

She reached the end of the hall, looking up at the big wooden door. She had to stifle her laugh every time, with how cliche it was. Composing her anger and laughter, she lightly pushes the door open.

Candles light the meeting room, open seats line the table, but because rules and shit, Neo herself had to line up behind Cinder, a cool headed pyrokinetic bitch. Neo appreciated the irony. She waved to Emerald and Mercury, also stuck in the roles of "Evil Henchmen A and B"

Emerald Sustrai could be described as a snake. Sneaky, sassy and steal-y. Mercury Black, her partner and boyfriend, was more of a fox. Sneaky, sassy, and assy. Neo herself liked to say she was like ice cream. Because she loved ice cream, and she loved herself.

Basically anyone under Cinder was an ass.

At the head of the table sat their almighty leader, the supreme witch Salem. Unlike the other witches in the room, Salem held every power, and every reason to kill someone who bothers her. When she spoke, her demonic eyes glowed with ferocity.

"I believe you're wondering why I called you all here today." she began. It was indeed puzzling, since usually Coven affairs were dealt with solely through the council. Protege Cinder, Golem Tyrian*, witch doctor Watts (nobody really liked Watts. Voodoo users weren't usually welcome in Salem-witch affairs, but Salem liked him, and that's all that mattered), and Warlock Hazel. Cinder's crew (or "posse" as Watts liked to call them) normally got information second hand.

"Our coven will now be on high alert. Adam Taurus has escaped his prison."

The room went silent (not that it wasn't silent before, since nobody ever spoke when Salem spoke. This just seemed more dramatic.) The room had every right to go silent. Neo corrected her earlier internal sarcasm, Adam Taurus was top priority.

"He has been killing potential Salem witches," she continued, true emotion beginning to show in her voice. Though coldhearted and demonic, Salem witches were children of her magic. Her coven was still her coven. "Cinder," the aforementioned perked up "find any survivors of his first massacre. Find any potential Salem witches and awaken them. Tyrian, Watts, and Hazel- find and imprison Adam Taurus. And make sure he stays imprisoned. Meeting adjourned."

*Golems- incredibly strong spirits used as guardians or warriors for powerful witches.

Yang

So much red, it hurt. Red was fire- her arm burned. Red was blood- spreading out beneath a small frame. Red was anger.

She woke up to white. White walls, white pillows, white hospital gown. Her mind still pounded with red, causing her mind to go dizzy with a pink swill of haze.

"Yang?" that was her name, familiar. But the voice was foreign. Her vision cleared and saw that the person who owned the voice was also unrecognizable. "I'll go get your father." she squeaked, shuffling out of the room.

Her dad. She almost forgot about him. She didn't want to see him. Her dad was Ruby's dad.

He came in anyways, blue eyes dead but relieved. They were dead. Just like her.

"Dad..." her voice cracked as he embraced her.

"Yang... My little light dragon... It will be okay..." he consoled into her ear, stroking her hair lovingly.

"But it's not!" She didn't have to look to see that her right arm was gone. She didn't have to remember her sister dying to know that she was dead. This was normal and this was not okay.

"Ruby is dead, dad! I can't..." she broke down, remaining arm rubbing the tears in her eyes.

Instead of arguing or trying to be optimistic, her dad sighed and joined her in sobbing.

"None of us can, Yang."

Author's Note

I hope you enjoyed that first look into this fan fic! Please review. Reviews are what tell me to continue! Anyhow, any questions you have will be answered but this is a prologue and it's supposed to be vague. I'm trying to make longer chapters but I'm bad at that so bear with infrequent chapter lengths. Was this long enough? Anyways, I know I said this is nothing like American Horror Story: Coven, but I am taking some inspiration from it. If you've seen it then you can find where I borrowed some stuff, but if you haven't then it won't change anything. But yeah most of the supernatural "lore" in this story will be my own. So there won't be much to guess. I hope you all enjoy.

-bye


	2. Slump And Slink

RWBY: Coven

Chapter 1: Slump and Slink

Author's Note: Woo another update! I got a few reviews interested in this story so I guess I'll be continuing it! If after this chapter you still want more, please leave a review! I love to hear people's feedback! Also I have two other RWBY stories that need completing… So whichever one people like the most, I'll get to first. Get exited because now the plot starts! Neo and Yang will meet and we'll also see more of the rest of Cinder's crew. And now, we continue on to the chapter! Enjoy Chapter one of Coven!

Also there's a scene where Neo, Merc and Em are all speaking telepathically. Neo's speech is bold, Emerald's is italicized, and Merc's is both.

 ** _Slump and Slink_**

 ** _Part One: Slump_**

It took a month to get used to; waking up, missing a limb. She still found herself forgetting it was gone, going to reach for the door-handle, or button her jacket. She hadn't even thought about trying to write again, it would be utterly embarrassing and utterly stupid. But in the end it took a month for her to fully grasp the concept of "your arm is gone, it's not going to magically grow back, but you can grow the fuck up Yang."

Unfortunately, the concept of "your sister's dead Yang" was not grasped as easily- or at all for that matter. Every time she closed her eyes, all she saw was red. The red of Ruby's namesake, her hoodie, her blood. Yang'd look down at her hands– hand, she'd look down at her singular hand and see blood dripping from her fingertips. She knew that it wasn't her blood. Based on her extensive psychology research (that included a wikipedia search and a middle school textbook) she deciphered these "visions" as guilt. It was Ruby's blood on Yang's hands, or rather, hand (though she got used to having only one arm in a month, she'd take a lot longer to change her speech involving her arms from plural to singular).

They shouldn't have left the bathroom. Once Yang had gotten to Ruby, there was no reason to leave. The bathroom was sheltered, there was even a lock on the door! If it came down to it, they could've just gone in Mission Impossible style, using the ceiling vents to travel out. Instead Yang just went out head on, costing Ruby her life.

Her dad had gone back to drinking, nothing too bad, but Yang found him passed out on the couch every night. She was sure that if she was over 21, she'd be in the same position. School was supposed to reopen in a few weeks, though Yang opted to take online classes as she… got used to things. She still talked to Blake and Weiss, but other than that- her life consisted of crying in her bedroom and working out… one armed.

Because of her traumatized mental state, Yang had yet to really think about what she saw that day. She looked at the news stations covering the event, and the kid they detained wasn't who she saw roaming the halls, embedding bullets in arms and in sisters. She decided that the bull horned- glowing demon was just a figment of her imagination. No human could've done that. He was a monster.

That morning, she woke up with a headache and an aching right arm/stump. They were common occurrences; headache from constant PTSD, and phantom pains in her arm— they were still a pain in the ass though. She downed three or four painkillers, and got dressed, orange tank top, brown pants, beige jacket. She knotted the right sleeve, one handed (which took her awhile to figure out, her left hand was incredibly uncoordinated) and pulled her mane of golden hair into a ponytail (which was slightly lopsided to the left, but not very noticeably.) After yanking her scroll off it's charger (easier than pulling the cord off) she swiftly left the house, ignoring her dad on the couch, and the pictures on the walls. Those family pictures always hurt.

The sun pierced her eyes, brightly shining and mocking her. It was not a "bright" day, so excuse her less than "sunny" demeanor. That day was the one month anniversary of the shooting. Shielding her eyes, Yang walked out of the front yard and to the sidewalk, casting a longing look to her motorcycle, lying dusty out by her dad's car. She turned away, walking as fast as she could to anywhere but there, that walk turned to a run and she found herself running as fast as possible.

Yang never really liked running, that was more Ruby's thing, she liked to face her problems head on, but the wind flowing through her hair now was exhilarating and she suddenly understood Ruby's love for it. It freed her, she wasn't just "Yang Xiao Long", she was everything, she was the wind and the sun. She found herself forgetting everything.

Ignoring the stitch in her side and the sweat pouring down her face, she ran faster and longer than ever. She got to the point where she needed to stop after about an hour, not knowing where she was, how far did she run? Panting, she made her way to a large tree and collapsed against it, never feeling so loose since the incident. She wished that she had brought water or something, she had no wallet either. Yang didn't expect to be running her feelings off, she expected to get the mail and head back inside. She was glad she didn't though.

That feeling left in an instant as a passing car triggered a flashback.

 _Pain everywhere. Red everywhere. Bullet in a skull. Blood on my hands. Why do I have two of those? Gun in my hand. Don't shoot, please. Ruby!_

She composed herself, hand clenching around a patch of freshly cut grass, pulling each piece out from the roots. She really couldn't deal with this shit anymore. "Goddamn it…" She cried quietly, hand reaching up, grass stained, to her face. She clouded the sun from her face, and dried the tears from her eyes. It wasn't fair. Nothing was fair.

Adding insult to injury was a memorial across the street, leaning up against a street pole. Candles were lit (despite it being daytime) and flowers were strung together in ropes around picture frames. All the victims. All of them. Apparently only 15 people were shot, and only 9 died. Out of 2000 students, Ruby was in that small percentile, the chances were so slim. Most of the pictures were school pictures, taken for IDs and the yearbook- they had that awkward feel, smiles not reaching their eyes, which made it feel that much more real. Only weeks earlier, they were getting their picture taken, wishing they could be anywhere but there, though slightly happy that they were missing class for it. There were a few pictures that weren't like that, some legitimate human moments from their short lives.

After a short search, she managed to find her and Ruby.

She squatted down, trying to keep balance with only one arm, and eventually managed to sit eye level to the picture (it was standing on a sort of podium or pedestal made for dramatic, traumatic effect). Her lilac eyes dull in comparison to past-Yang's bright ambitious ones, and Ruby's bright, hopeful ones.

"Hey Ruby," she whispered "I know this is kind of cliche but… I really can't live without you. Not really anyways" she wiped tears from her eyes and stood up, gazing at the memorial shrine in melancholy. She gazed at it for awhile. So caught was she in this stupor of memories and regret, Yang never noticed another individual approach the memorial. She felt the air sort of shift around her, and turned to her right where a girl stood.

The girl stood at less than five feet, with a swirl of pink and brown streaked hair reaching her waist. She wore a white jacket, with pink trim, her under shirt and pants matched the brown in her hair. She looked like a minimalist art deco aesthetic mixed with a more classy, wine-drinking crowd's. Yang looked at her for a few minutes before speaking.

"You lose someone too?" She asked, having to look down in order to address the girl. The girl had to look up to meet Yang's eyes, which widened at the heterochromic eyes blinking back at her. She didn't get a verbal response, just a sickly sweet smile and a shaking of her head. "Well thanks for— hey!"

While Yang was speaking and absorbing, the girl had bent down (she didn't have to bend down very far- seeing as she was incredibly small) and reached for one of the packs of chocolate gifted to the dead. Yangs mouth dropped as she ripped the package open and popped a chocolate in her mouth, licking her lips and putting the remaining pack in her pocket. She left with a wink.

Yang was overflowing with anger. How could she be so disrespectful? What would she gain from stealing those lovingly placed gifts?

"Hey!" She yelled, eyes narrowing. The girl turned, cowlick of mismatched hair twirling behind her. Yang ran up to her, not really noticing how far the girl had travelled in such a short time (she was small, less to carry?) and grabbed her shoulders "Why the hell would you do that!?" she screamed "That was for the victims! For Ruby…" She trailed off. The girl just smiled, taking out her scroll and typing something in before shoving it into Yang's face. _So she's mute then, explains why she didn't laugh evilly after stealing memorial chocolates._

She looked at the scroll, and was even madder when she read what was typed.

 **It's not like they were going to eat them ;)**

"What do you mean by that? Those chocolates are more than just food, they're a symbol! They mean something! Don't take that last thing away from the dead!"

The girl made a face, cocking an eyebrow and typing something else.

 **I mean I got permission :\**

Yang loosened her grip a bit in confusion "What the fuck is that supposed to mean?"

 **Your sister says hi ;))**

Yang's eyes widened at the message, and the girl smiled that sickeningly sweet smile again before running off with a wink and a wave. Yang was left completely speechless. This girl was either rude or crazy. Most likely both, to be completely honest. Yang shook her head to get her thoughts clearer. Her morning had started shitty, got slightly better and then ended even shittier. Fun.

She took out her scroll, calling her dad to pick her up. She was too exhausted and dehydrated to get back on foot, and her dad needed to get out of the house more so, killing two birds with one stone.

"Hey dad…"

There were a lot more birds that needed killing, unfortunately.

Once she got home, she immediately ran to her room, leaving her dad stumped at the door (he had no idea what was going on with Yang, but just credited it to the shooting and went back to the couch.) She shed her clothes and then jumped into the shower with her thoughts. She let the sweat peel off her and let her puffy hair absorb water and flatten to her head. Despite her fiery personality, she liked showering with ice cold water, probably because it was so refreshing. It had a bite to it that cleared her thoughts and airways.

Who was that girl? What the fuck did she mean by "your sister says hi"? What did she mean by any of it? No matter what the answers were to those questions, there was a clear answer in how Yang felt about her. She hated her. She hated her because she was curious and couldn't understand her. She couldn't stand someone poking around her head, which was just what that girl did.

After drying herself off and changing into another shirt and pants, she picked up her jacket, preparing to hang it up. However, as she stuck one end of the coat hanger into the right shoulder, a piece of paper caught her eye.

It was slipped into the inner pocket obviously, almost begging to fall out. With it, she also pulled out one of the chocolates that the girl had stolen. She unfolded the small slip, and grimaced when she read what was written.

 **You're cute- call me ;)**

 **xoxo**

 **-Neo**

She turned to throw it away, crumpling the paper up in her hands, but hesitating when she noticed another message written on the back. Her eyes widened.

 **I can bring her back :0**

Yang knew it was dumb, but she had never picked up her phone so fast in her life.

 ** _Part Two: Slink_**

"You saw her, spoke with her–"

"Technically she didn't speak with her."

"Shut up Merc. You met with her and didn't bring her here!? Are you fucking insane?"

"I'm pretty sure she has 'insane' down to-a-tee."

"What was that I said about shutting up?"

Neo looked back and forth between the two like she was in an anime, not really caring about Emerald's attempt at scolding. It was insanely fun to get her annoyed, but unlike Mercury, Neo couldn't get away with it. There were perks to dating the girl eternally stuck in PMS mode, and she guessed that that was it. After a few more remarks between the two, Neo decided that she'd had enough, and took out her scroll, quickly typing out her own remark.

 **I've got it aaalllll covered Em. Can we go out for ice cream now? Like we promised? :DDDD**

Emerald read the message and glowered at Neo, while Mercury gave her a thumbs up. Neo had a moment of triumphant glory, awaiting Emerald's surrender. Unlike Cinder, Emerald had no authoritative presence, no matter how hard she tried. However, instead of that expected resign, Emerald turned that frown upside-down. "I didn't promise that, I said we'd go for ice cream once she was on board."

Neo's shoulder's slumped as Emerald laughed maniacally, Mercury had gotten bored of the whole conversation and had since resorted to the couch in the far corner of the room, drumming his fingers on his thigh and waiting for Neo to pull a Neo and win over Emerald (like always) or for Emerald to finally snap and use her ability on the small ice-cream obsessed girl. Though their interactions were mundane, they were still a coven- a brotherhood of the supernaturally talented, and they could go from dumb bickering to an all out bloodbath in seconds, which Mercury was anxious to watch.

 **TrUST mE EMMY! She just lost her little sister, I gave her a little hint and she'll call me like within the second she finds my number! Now ICE CREAM PLEASE D:**

"Neo, I'd like to remind you that you cannot physically talk to the living, so how will you talk to her on the phone!?"

 **Ice Cream first. Technicalities second. Actually second comes Emerald paying for ice cream :D**

"You know what? Fine! Ice cream it is! Just… If Cinder asks- I was the mature adult and you were the child who'd rather eat ice cream than be productive. Capiche?"

Neo gave a thumbs up and met eyes with Mercury who smirked, knowing that she'd rat out Emerald when Cinder came-a-asking. Emerald then looked at Neo coldly "Also I am not paying for your ice cream."

Emerald ended up paying for their ice cream.

They sat at a round table in the shop, eating their chosen ice cream mundanely while they "spoke" very non-mundane things. Neo had her typical choice of neapolitan, while Mercury ate Mint Chocolate Chip (which Neo found incredibly adorable seeing as Emerald was literally mint chocolate chip ice cream as a person) and Emerald just drank a cup of water giving Neo a death stare. But all of this was besides the point, the point was that Emerald ended up paying and Neo got ice cream.

To any bystander, the three of them were a group of college kids out for ice cream, but to said group- it was another story. After the painful process of getting Emerald to pay for their "meal", they sat at a table and silently agreed to talk business. Luckily for them, they could eat ice cream in public at the same time. See, each Salem Witch has an ability unique to them, and Emerald's convenient ability was telepathy. Though it started out as being able to create hallucinations, through Salem and Cinder's training, she was able to expand that to full on mind-fuckery. So while they sat eating ice-cream, they also talked Adam Taurus and what a shit tornado that would be.

 **Why does Salem want her anyways?**

 ** _Who, Blondie? I had the same question. Now that a real witch is asking, maybe I'll get a fucking answer._**

 _Shut up both of you. We don't need to know why. We just need to know what. And—_

 **The 'what' is finding the girl, right?**

 _And cutting a deal with her. Her ability is incredibly powerful._

 ** _Does she even know?_**

 _What, that she's a witch? I doubt it._

 ** _Even better. We have to give the whole speech about magic being real._**

 **How's that supposed to go anyways?**

 ** _I got it. We break into her house and announce: "You're a wizard, Blondie"_**

 _First of all, she's not a wizard, it's a completely different thing despite common knowledge. Second of all, that whole thing was supposed to be taken care of by Neo. Who didn't take care of it._

 **Yeah sure blame me. Is no-one gonna mention how Mercury spent this whole conversation building that joke up?**

 ** _Nah, Em likes me too much._**

 _Not for long if you don't shut the fuck up._

 ** _:D_**

 **:D**

 _t(-.-t}_

Author's Note: So there was chapter One! Hope you enjoyed it as much as i enjoyed writing it. I love writing Neo, Em and Merc so much because they have such a fun dynamic (At least i think. We haven't seen enough of Neo really lol) I wanted to write more of their telepathic conversation, but it would reveal too much about things that will be left till later. I might hold off on updating this until i update my other RWBY fics, BUT reviews will change that so… yeah. Even though I'm not even that big of a Baked Alaska shipper, this fanfic is extremely fun to write so… yeah. Sorry if you're waiting for a RoR or CREMNal update. SOOOON. Until then

-bye


	3. Sneak

RWBY: Coven

Chapter 2: Sneak

Author's Note: hey so i know i said i'd update my other fics first but… I love this one so much that I have to keep working on it! This chapter will give us more on Neo and my lovely villains (though they aren't villains in this fic)… So let's just get right on to it then!

Chapter 2: Sneak

Yang's hand shook as she dialed the number, finger pressing onto each number with all force possible. She knew it seemed desperate, but at this point- she was already at rock bottom. How bad could it be? She remembered the girl from earlier that day— Neo. That was certainly an appropriate name, Yang admitted. The girl looked like walking Neapolitan ice-cream, her whole getup made sense now.

There was a one in a million chance that what Neo offered was possible- and Yang would've ignored it if not for the "your sister says hi" comment. Of course Neo could've just figured it out through context, but it's not like Ruby and Yang looked alike, Neo could've been safer saying "your friend says hi", but she said "sister".

She sighed as she waited for someone to pick up, she realized that it'd be safer to text the mute girl, rather than call her, but the note read " **call me** " specifically. So there Yang was, calling a creepy, short mute girl. It was almost laughable how desperate she was.

After three rings, Yang considered just hanging up, but right as her thumb hovered over the hang-up button, she heard the telltale crackle of a connection to the other party and quickly held her scroll to her ear and took a deep breath in.

 _"_ _Hello?"_ the person on the other end asked, breaking the tension binding Yang's vocal chords.

"Uh, hi this is—" the voice cut her off " _Yang Xiao Long, right? Calling about Neo?_ "

Yang's jaw dropped and she nodded her head, speechless, before she realized she was on the phone and the woman on the other end couldn't see her. She ended up just humming in acknowledgement.

 _"_ _I'm assuming that Neo told you nothing, and left a cliffhanger-esque message that prompted you to call me?"_

Yang's eyes narrowed, suddenly feeling like this was just all a joke.

"Sorry to interrupt whatever you were doing, I didn't want to be involved in a prank." She said, disappointment weaving its way into her speech, but the woman was quick to respond.

 _"_ _No! This isn't a prank, we need—just what did Neo promise? What did she say?"_

Yang gulped, "She said she could bring my sister back. From being dead."

There was a pause at the other end, and Yang could tell that the microphone was probably being covered as the woman spoke to someone. Meanwhile, Yang uncomfortably waited for the verdict; was this wishful thinking? Or was she on to something?

 _"_ _Okay, we can do that. Meet with us at Junior's, 8:00 PM sharp tonight, okay?"_

 _"_ You can? What exactly is this—"

" _Just meet up with us. Junior's. 8:00."_

Yang sighed, naturally she wouldn't get answers until she met up with them.

" _Junior's_? I've never heard of it."

 _"_ _Well have you ever heard of Google?"_

 _"_ Yeah but I— and she hung up." Yang looked at the recent calls screen for a moment until the scroll went dark from lack of activity. She quickly put the device in her back pocket and rushed over to her dad's computer, searching up "Junior's nearby?" and getting only a few results. She eventually figured out that it was a nightclub on the east end of the town. Apparently it was a common meet up for gangs and of-age partygoers. It had been awhile since Yang had gone to a club, it felt wrong to go to a party when she was supposed to be mourning.

She printed out the map, glancing at the clock. It was only 2:00 now, that was 6 hours to wait before getting everything explained to her. She needed an explanation, but more than that she needed to see her sister alive again, and two people just told her that it was possible. The hole that Ruby had left in her life was unbelievably large, and it hurt to even think about other friends since they all connected to Ruby in some way. She ran her hand through her mass of blonde locks, striding over to her closet to find an outfit for that night.

Somehow, through all of that day's bullshit, Yang had forgotten about the travesty of her missing right arm. All her badass, party-worthy attire didn't work with the amputee thing. She sighed in frustration, digging through every corner in her closet. It was rather mundane, really; her sister dies, she's given an opportunity to bring her back through a vague phone call, and here she was fussing about her outfit. How pitiful.

Usually Yang didn't care about how people looked at her, even after she lost her arm. Before, she knew she looked hot no matter what, and now she had better things to worry about; but something about this whole "going out to a stylized place" had her needing to look good. Naturally, since she was going for the normal-outing-forgetting-about-how-sad-you-are route, she decided to get some fashion advice as well. Sighing, she picked up her phone and dialed.

"Hey Weiss, it's Yang, I need a favor."

Neo was… exited, to say the least. Emerald had no clue why the ice cream lover even cared. She could recall many other times that Cinder sent her merry band of followers out looking for potential other followers, and each time had Neo complaining and pouting and being especially aggravating. But with this "Yang" chick, Neapolitan Torchwick actually _volunteered_ for the job, and now she was going through her immense wardrobe (filled to the brim with white, brown and pink outfits- which was a commitment because it wasn't a color scheme that decked the clothing stores) and trying to find the perfect attire to a meeting at _Junior's_ __which, to put it in context, was incredibly strange, since they went to that nightclub religiously (it was a common supernatural hangout) and Neo never fussed over what to wear then.

Emerald herself donned a white leather jacket, lined with a fuzzy green material. The jacket covered up her _actual_ clubbing outfit, which was far less conservative. Meanwhile Mercury just wore his leather jacket over one of his many variations of rock band t-shirt. He literally never wore anything else, which was definitely dedication, but kind of annoying (which was probably why he did it in the first place).

Eventually Neo came out of her room, dressed in a… very freeing outfit. Emerald wasn't one to talk, but she still had the decency to cover it up outside of the club. "You realize that we have something else to do first, right? We aren't going to the club until 8:00."

Neo just stuck her tongue out, sending obscene message via thoughts (which Emerald couldn't tune out if she tried). Mercury just laughed while Emerald groaned in frustration, and shared a high five with Neo. "You are the worst boyfriend in the world, you know." Emerald growled, glaring daggers at her silver haired partner, he just shrugged.

" _Anyways,"_ she said, changing the subject "we have a task to complete before we attend to the Xiao Long situation."

Neo cocked an eyebrow before holding out her scroll. _What is it this time?_

Emerald sighed and ran a hand through her minty green hair "just another demon causing trouble for Salem."

 _There have been a lot of those since Taurus escaped._

"Yeah, well he has a lot of radical followers, now they're all ready to impress the new _big bad_." Mercury retorted, holding the door open for the two girls.

Mercury was right, Adam Taurus was a prominent and powerful demon- his morals on the other hand were less than savory. Ever since his escape a month prior, Salem's followers found themselves with many more supernatural disturbances to cover up.

The three of them walked out of their shared flat and took to the streets. The air was crisp and cold, which made Emerald discretely chuckle at Neo's poor outfit choice, since there was no way that she wasn't shivering in her own skin right then. Neo must've caught onto that because there was no other reason for her middle finger to be stuck in such an obscene position, and aimed at Emerald of all people!

Their walk consisted of brief arguments and mundane conversations about the weather, and other than perverted stares at the two girls in their trio (and glares from the _other_ member of their party) none of them seemed out of place. Just a bunch of stylish college kids hanging out. Nothing suspicious. And while they were stylish and college age, they were definitely up to something devious, if killing a man counted as "suspicious".

They made it all the way to the edge of the town, the tall buildings dispersing- becoming more and more run down. Some of them had been long since abandoned, adorned in obscene graffiti and bird shit. The sky had begun to fill with a cliche amount of clouds, shadowing the "city" below with a grey tint.

There were barely any people around, save for the occasional street-rat or car. Though definitely somber, it gave the trio enough leeway to speak about actual important things.

"So what's the deal with our target?" Mercury questioned, looking to Emerald, who had pulled out her scroll, perusing their job information. Neo nodded at Merc's question, as if to say _"ditto"._

"A man named Tuckson," she started, turning the scroll towards them, showing a picture of a man in his mid thirties. He was pretty average looking, with his only defining feature being his oversized sideburns. "He was recently possessed, and the demon isn't friendly."

Emerald quickly skimmed through the file again before sighing and putting the scroll in her jacket pocket. Mercury nodded and shoved his hands in his pockets, while Neo took out her own scroll and absentmindedly began updating her Instagram.

They all knew what "isn't friendly" meant. It meant "aggressive", which meant "has to be executed". The worst thing about killing demons was that they had to kill the host as well, and while they constantly did it- the action never failed to stir up some emotions.

Eventually, they turned into an alleyway, almost having to move in single file it was so narrow. The two buildings lining their path towered over them, and had been built to withstand anything but time; bricks mold covered and rotting. A smell wafted through the passageway, and Neo crinkled up her nose in disgust. It smelled like rotting flesh- they all knew that smell all too well.

After what felt like an hour of sneaking through the alleyway (it was really only about a minute), they reach a back street that honestly couldn't be found unless you had already been there (or if you had a telepathic witch and a GPS in the same room)(which they did).

The street was worn down and abandoned, all the shops and houses' lights had been shut off, or their windows were shattered. Of course, all except one. The one building still standing wasn't the most beautiful sight, but it had a quaint little sign reading: _Tuckson's Book Trade,_ and a generally well kept storefront.

Emerald gulps before checking her scroll again. "This is the place."

The three stood there, looking up at the shop for a few moments before Neo and Emerald looked at Mercury expectantly. He rolls his eyes and let's out a sarcastic "really?" before kicking the door down, straight off its hinges. It hit the ground with a satisfying crash, and they entered.

The store was empty. Well, empty isn't quite the word for it, since it was filled to the brim with bookshelves and books. There were even piles of books next to shelves that had no space for them. They were all covered in dust.

Neo pulled up her scroll. _Let's get this over with, don't want to miss our date :/_

The other two chuckled humorlessly- sensing the hidden " _this place gives me the creeps"_ part of the message.

Emerald rang the bell at the front desk before stepping back and focusing on unleashing a flurry of pain into the demon's head. As long as it was in a human body, it had to abide by human rules, and headaches were part of the package.

A click echoed from the door behind the desk, as the door was unlocked. As the door creaked open, it almost seemed like the darkness behind it was pouring into the room, creeping like a spider around the walls. The only thing visible behind it were two golden irises that almost seemed to be glowing.

Luckily for them, Tuckson wasn't a particularly powerful demon (at least in comparison to ones they had fought before), so they were plenty prepared for the practically rabid figure to leap from the shadows.

The darkness had wrapped around Tuckson's arms like gloves, forming lanky arms and animalistic claws. He sensed the trio as prey, and from his foaming snarl, they could tell he was quite far gone.

Emerald wound her mind with his, trying to get past the intense screaming of the host trying to regain control and the frenzy that was this animal. Eventually she created a hallucination, erasing Neo and Mercury from his field of vision.

It gave Mercury the edge he needed to grab ahold of Tuckson and flip him over his head, slamming him down into a bookshelf. Though the demon had darkness to his disposal, and had inhuman strength and speed, he couldn't fight what he couldn't see.

While Mercury held Tuckson in place, hand wrapped tightly around his throat, Neo approached with a long blade. It was thin and needle like, but glowed almost ominously, and definitely did the trick when she plunged it into the beast's heart.

The demon let out a guttural scream, and writhed under Mercury's grip. Neo ripped the sword out from its chest when he finally quieted.

They immediately left, setting fire to the bookshop and getting the fuck out of dodge. Emerald had taken a few books with her, Mercury watched the flames eat the building, and Neo cleaned the blade in solemn silence (as opposed to creepy scheming silence).

After about ten minutes, Neo snapped, calling attention to her scroll.

 _Junior's?_

The two smiled and nodded, repeating "Junior's" in confirmation.

"I'm glad you asked me for assistance, you definitely needed a wardrobe update. All of this is so out of style!" Weiss said with a matter o' fact tone that made Yang giggle.

"Seriously Yang! This is incredibly important! You said you wanted to look good, I am helping you with that. So just listen to my expert advice."

"Seriously Weiss," Yang mocked "you're letting your inner rich girl show."

Weiss laughed at that, glad that Yang was at least a little back to normal, and continued to rifle through Yang's wardrobe. She had narrowed it down to two or three outfits, and kept having Yang try different combinations on.

"But really Yang," Weiss started, now inflicting her voice with a far more serious tone "what spurred this sudden desire to get out?"

She looked back at the blonde, who had paused whatever she was doing- and had frozen up.

"I-I guess I needed to get out," she stuttered "I want to just forget about everything for a night."

Weiss nodded. Yang wasn't the only one effected by Ruby's death. Hell, Ruby was Weiss' best friend since kindergarten. Nothing could replace that empty hole in her heart that her friend had once filled. But everyone coped with it differently, and Weiss pushed it aside, while Yang fixated on it.

While engrossed in her thoughts, Weiss' icy eyes grazed over the clothes covering Yang's bed. Suddenly it clicked. "I got it!" she cheered, grabbing a beige leather jacket, an orange crop top, and ripped black shorts. "Put these on with your boots and some leggings and it'll be perfect!" she exclaimed, shoving the outfit into Yang's arm, before shoving Yang herself into the bathroom.

Sighing, the blonde dressed herself, struggling a bit with tying the right jacket sleeve but otherwise having very little trouble. Weiss heard her finish up changing and barged in, hairbrush and makeup in tow, grinning mischievously as she reached for Yang's hair. "I have _always_ wanted to do this you know." she giggled.

After about an hour of hair-brushing, and another two hours of makeup, Weiss finally felt satisfied with her work, and pushed Yang to her mirror. The white haired girl smiled as Yang's eyes widened, realizing how fucking sexy she looked. The lack of an arm didn't take away from it, but rather added onto the sleek, modern and asymmetrical look. What Weiss didn't expect was a left arm pulling her into a grateful embrace, or the tears that came with it.

"Thank you Weiss"

Yang looked up at the club, slightly intimidated by how goddamn shady it was. There were small crowds of people in front, and about three bouncers peering down at them with beady eyes which were only hardened by their edgy red shades.

She approached the bouncers, and while her stance and gait were confident, her hands still shook and her eyes still darted around every corner, paranoid. One of the men raised his arm and blocked the entrance a bit before adjusting his fedora in attempt to intimidate. It worked.

"Yer not allowed to be 'ere missy, what are ya'? 15?" He asked in an alcohol laced voice.

Yang gulped, "17, actually."

"Well, that's not allowed either kid, now run along to yer parents."

She felt her face heat up in both anger and humiliation before attempting to walk through the three men like in a red rover game. It didn't work. The first bouncer seemed to be a bit irked by this and grabbed her shoulder, pushing her back. "I don't care if yer a high school chick, I will not go easy on ya' if ya' pick a fight."

Her eyes flared a bit "You don't understand I _have_ to meet someone in there I can't pass this up!"

He rolled his eyes and reached for his gun, Yang held her ground. She wasn't going to pass up a chance to bring _her sister back from the dead._ No way. The bouncer prepared to hold it to her head and lead her out before a hand graced his shoulders.

The hand was pale and calloused, but young nonetheless, and it belonged to a young man in his twenties. He was lanky and casual, with a mop of spiked silver hair on his head. He wore a smirk on his fox-like face, and his eyes, though cocky seemed more intimidating than all three bouncers combined. The fedora bouncer jumped at the man's touch and got a chuckle in reply.

"Don't worry man, Blondie's with us. 'Kay?" He looked over at Yang with another smirk and the bouncers silently parted to let Yang through, the silver haired man gestured her through them, and she obliged, still puzzled about who this guy was and what just happened.

"Who are—" she started to ask, but he cut her off

"Mercury" he said, holding out his left hand, she shook it and he continued "I'm guessing you're here to talk to Neo?"

She didn't reply, he frowned before correcting himself. "Well, not _talk_ to per say but whatever."

Mercury led her through a dancing crowd, avoiding the path of drunks and strobe lights, desperately moving her towards the bar in the far back. He had to yell to be understandable over the vibration of the bass "Neo and Em are in the back, we have to be discrete as to not raise suspicion."

She cocked an eyebrow but nodded anyways, and sat down next to him at the bar. He slid a random drink towards her and she took a sip, it was definitely alcoholic, but incredibly sweet. "This is good!" she exclaimed, and he just smirked again, taking a swig of his own drink, grimacing and then slamming it down. "I know" he retorted.

Yang continued to not talk, awkwardly sipping at her liquor, Mercury raised his eyebrows. "Aren't you going to question the surreality of the situation?"

"Yeah, I just don't know what to question." She mumbled it but he caught it anyways, smirking a tad more than before. Instead of letting him interject, she continued. "I mean every question I've asked has been blatantly ignored! Who are you? Why do you know about my sister? Why are you talking to _me_ in particular? How can you bring her back?" She didn't realize that her voice had caught in her throat, making each word a bit more raspy and suffocating.

Mercury gave her a sideways glance before sliding his own drink over to her. "Weren't you drinking that?" she asked, fingering the glass a bit.

He chuckled "Nah, don't drink alcohol to be completely honest."

"Then why did you order that?"

"Knew you'd need it? Wanted to look compassionate? A bit of both." He shrugged, and that had managed to break the ice surrounding the conversation. She held back a laugh at what she only assumed was flirting.

"I don't swing that way you know," She said, shutting him down. She didn't want to be a tease for the night and then refute those advances with a "I'm a lesbian" and then leaving.

Mercury just doubled over in laughter "It's a good thing I'm taken then!"

"Oh"

"I am a natural flirt Blondie, don't get your panties in a twist." As he tapped his fingers against the wood of the bar, he smiled, inky irises seeming to enjoy every line etched into it. Yang felt that, given time, she could grow to like this person.

"Anyways, I'm going to answer your questions Yang. To prepare you for the shit you're about to witness and experience." He started, voice growing more serious in tone. She noticed that he used her actual name, rather than his go-to "Blondie". Okay, better listen up.

"To make things short and sour, you my sweet fireball" he pointed to her, index finger pointing directly to her eye level "are a witch."

"What?"

 **Author's Note: and after three months of hiatus I'm back. I may not update for a bit since people kind of want me to update my bumblebee pic, Rats of Reality. Now, i love Coven, and writing it is enjoyable but i pander to my audience. SO if you want another chapter please review or DM me (preferably the former) because that shows that you want more. Writing these takes awhile since i have personal stories and personal life in the way so hopefully this is up to par. See you later :DD**


	4. An Explanation

**AN: Daaaamnnn adox, back at it again with the Coven updates (and outdated memes apparently). I hope you enjoy this chapter! We get plenty of explanations here, and we get the true beginnings of this fan fiction! I plan to take it really** ** _really_** **far. Whether it gets there, I'm not sure, but hopefully this will be a ride! *disclaimer***

 **Chapter 3: An Explanation**

"What?"

Yang's mouth dropped in disbelief. "A witch? Magic? I swear this has to be a dream. Or a nightmare. Probably both."

Mercury, instead of elaborating, clapped his hands together and coughed. "Al-right! Explanation done, let's go to the back."

He pushes himself off of the bar stool and dusts his torso off before yanking Yang towards a back room. "You're not going to even tell me what that means?"

"Nah"

"This is technically sexual harassment you know! What if you and your just staged this as an elaborate scam! Oh god what have I gotten myself into…" Sure she was rambling but this entire situation was so jarring that doing anything else would've just complicated things.

Mercury hummed, giving her a light smirk "You've gotten yourself into a shit-show, that's what."

x

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x

He took her to a back room, opening a few doors and lazily waving past a few groups of bouncers who were obviously intimidated by him. She wondered what there was to be scared of about the lanky male, other than the whole, ominous, "you're a witch" thing.

The room was almost entirely clothed in red: its velvety couches and crimson wallpaper complementing the wine bottles lining one the mahogany shelves. Sat on the couches were three women, one Yang recognized as the mute girl, Neo, and the others being completely unfamiliar. Sitting to the right of Neo was a thirty, or so year-old woman, who's golden eyes reflected the fragments of light like two torches. She seemed more mature and dangerous than Mercury or Neo, or even the other girl sitting to the far right in a separate loveseat. Said girl seemed the least intimidating of the bunch, though the look gracing her features were far from welcoming.

Mercury pointed at the golden eyed woman "Cinder; basically our boss, and then Emerald" he moved his hand into the direction of the other unnamed girl, who's scarlet eyes softened a bit in looking at him. Yang's eyebrows perked a bit, that must've been who he meant when he said he was taken.

"I'm pretty sure you're already acquainted with our resident psychopath." He gestured towards Neo, who winked and gave Yang a sweet smile. The blonde felt chills crawl all the way up through to her neck.

Cinder gave a professional simper "Ms. Xiao Long, please sit." she motioned to one of the smaller couches peppering the lounge, this one being right across from the three. Mercury took Cinder's words as an invitation towards his sitting down as well, and plopped down right onto the love-seat next to Emerald casually, resting his arm around her shoulders. Yang couldn't be so extemporaneous, and sat down stiffly, never loosing eye contact with Cinder, matching golden glimmers with lilac pools of determination.

"If my assumptions are correct, my subordinates have left you with more questions than answers." She started, voice like a syrup of seduction.

"You're spot-on in that assumption!" Yang retorted, eyes flickering to Neo, who just shrugged and flapped her eyelashes coyly at the angry blonde.

"I deeply apologize for that, they are not the best at recruitment, but drastic times call for drastic measures. Especially in the supernatural community." She lifted her wine glass and took a slow draft of the crimson liquid, eyes still never leaving Yang.

Yang found it time to voice her skepticism "You say 'supernatural community' as if it's _normal_. Can you not skip the whole explanation of what's going on, and why you want _me._ "

"Right, I had assumed that my _trusted subordinate_ had explained it all to you," Cinder sighed, glaring for a second at Mercury who chuckled dryly and turned away to look at literally anything else. "In short, magic is real," she picked up her right hand and contorted her fingers around each other for a second, before her entire hand burst into flames that matched her smoldering gaze.

Yang was taken aback, practically leaping out of her seat and darting back-first into one of the red walls. "What the _fuck?"_

Cinder's fire went out before she blew the remaining steam off of those perfectly manicured fingernails. She used those same fingers to motion Yang back into her chair.

It was then that Emerald decided to speak, Yang recognized her voice as the one on the phone. "It's not like stereotypical magic though, we all have different attributes. For example, Cinder can control and create fire, while I can manipulate minds to an extent." Yang gave her a confused stare, prompting an eye-roll from the dark skinned girl, who sarcastically put her fingers to her head in a Professor-X fashion and spoke into the blonde's mind.

 _See? Telepath._

"Oh Oum, what the fuck?!" Yang shrieked "That gave me a fucking heart attack!"

"Anyways, it's not like we can't do spells or anything," Emerald continued, completely ignoring Yang's freak-out (save for the slight smirk gracing her originally grumpy face). "But we all have our talents that no other witch can replicate. Neo, for example," Neo gave a little wave "is what we call a medium. She can communicate with the spirit world- acts as almost a bridge between us and those no-longer with us."

Yang was finally beginning to understand what Emerald was implying.

"So she can bring Ruby back?"

"Most likely."

"What do I have to do? I'll do anything!"

Cinder grimaced. "Now this brings us to our current predicament. See, Witches aren't the only supernaturals. There are others; from the expected werewolves and vampires to the more dangerous demons. Witches merely act as a governing body to them."

Yang cocked an eyebrow "I sense a ' _but_ ' coming on"

Mercury let out a "you'd be right, Blondie" before promptly getting elbowed in the stomach by Emerald. He just smirked, showing no sign of pain.

Cinder continued " _But,_ some demons are too dangerous to let loose. And some are too powerful to kill. One of them being the first demon, Adam."

"Adam?" Yang questioned, wondering what was so important about this guy. How it had anything to do with her sister coming back.

"I believe you've met him," Mercury drawled lazily, loosely pantomiming his right arm getting cut off.

Yangs heart accelerated, her eyes widened, and a lump formed in her throat. "Are you implying what I _think_ you're implying?"

"If what you " _think we're implying_ " is Adam being the demon who shot up Beacon Academy— then yeah." Mercury replied sardonically. If Yang wasn't currently freaking out over her life and all of reality at that moment- she was sure that she'd punch him in the face.

"His name wasn't Adam—" Yang started, before Neo threw her scroll at her.

 _But you saw something that day, didn't you? Like the kid was possessed or something. All red and glowing? :?_

Yang grimaced at the emoticon but gave the scroll back before slowly nodding. Fist clenching around her jacket. "Why? Why would _Adam_ do that?" She said his name with enough bite to gnaw through the tension in the room.

Cinder decided to speak up again, since she must've thought that sitting there menacingly wasn't enough to creep someone (Yang) out. (She was wrong, she was plenty cHer voice was just as cinnamon-laced as before, yet held a bit more emotion than Yang had gotten used to.

"Our Coven leader, the Supreme Witch, Salem. Hundreds of years ago she sealed Adam away, in order to protect witches and humans alike. Somebody found it in their best interest to let it loose."

"That doesn't explain why the first thing he did was shoot up a school. Kill innocent kids!" _like Ruby._ "And wait, hundreds of years ago? Are witches like gods or something?"

"Salem's ability, or semblance, is immortality." Emerald jutted in, before snapping her mouth shut, looking at Cinder to continue.

"Adam, as one would imagine, hates Salem's Coven. Its one desire is to wipe out witches, the most efficient method of doing that is to stop any new ones from awakening. We have reason to believe that you and your sister were those potential witches he aimed to… _eliminate."_ Cinder explained, and Yang's eyes widened.

"How do you know that?"

"Salem knows of every unawakened and awakened witch of her bloodline, it's typical of coven leaders." Emerald interjected, receiving a look from Cinder which promptly shut her up.

"But Adam doesn't know. Or isn't supposed to know. Whoever let him out has access to witch records or abilities. But that's besides the point," Cinder paused leaning closer to Yang, eyes burning from within.

"You survived Adam's assassination, Ms. Xiao Long."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Seeing as Adam hasn't shown up since then, we theorize that your semblance has already awoken. That it awoke with the anger of seeing your sister's passing."

"And what ability is _that?_ "

Cinder grinned a maniacal grin.

"That's what we're here to find out, Ms. Xiao Long."

x

x

x

Yang wasn't sure that _Junior's_ could possibly have any more back rooms, but there she was standing in front of yet another door, in yet another improbable scenario.

So they weren't sure what her "semblance" even was, but they knew it was powerful. (or in Mercury's words; "fucking badass, but not as badass as me, y'know? Like because no one is as badass as me. But it's close.")

Instead of doing what Yang thought most logical (going to their all powerful, all knowing leader or whatever, and just _asking_ what her semblance was) they, of course had to do the tedious approach of figuring it out through training, perseverance and the process of elimination.

After giving her orders of "come back to me when you figure out Ms. XIao Long's semblance. I hope to see you within a week." Cinder left dramatically through some magical door that she just summoned with a few hand gestures. Even if they hadn't basically blackmailed her with Ruby, Yang probably joined them eventually, seeing as they had magic and hung out in nightclubs.

That left Yang with Mercury (who she wasn't even sure was a witch… or wizard or whatever, but she felt the most comfortable with since he seemed the least irritable or psychopathic. Plus he bought her drinks), Emerald (who seemed to hate her for no reason, she seemed to hate everything for no reason) and Neo.

Unlike with Emerald and Mercury, Yang couldn't really pin down how she felt about Neo. The short girl seemed to be enthralled with Yang, in a very creepy and cutesy way. The ice cream themed Neo seemed to have so much to say, but couldn't say anything- which could explain why she just stared, wide-eyed and creepily at whatever she wanted to converse with.

And that's how Yang ended up standing in front of an entrance to yet another back room with Neo at her heels, gazing at her with piercing miss-matched eyes. Because Emerald couldn't be bothered more by Yang, and because Mercury seemed to be attached at her hip. They unanimously decided to appoint Neo to "figuring out Blondie's semblance duty" and ran off to their own back room. Neo didn't complain.

Instead she shoved her scroll into lilac eyes' cone of vision and dragged Yang away to this ever so curious back room.

 _Let's have some fun Yang-a-lang :DDDDD_

Tired of questioning her situation, Yang finally opened the door.

x

x

x

When Adam decided to shoot up a school, he did it to make an entrance, to dramatically announce that he was back and bloodthirsty as ever. He didn't do it to get propelled out of his host, kill only one witch spawn, and awaken another one. He definitely didn't expect that.

He knew they were sisters, the magic stemming from their shared father, who couldn't awaken himself due to not being female (thank Oum, that was one more witch that wouldn't exist.) What he wasn't remotely aware of was the content of their abilities. The older one in particular.

The small brunette was easy enough, though he saw sparks of _something_ in her bright silver eyes, he put an end to it quickly. As for the sister, Adam wasn't sure what it was but one moment she was crying about her stupid kid-sister and bleeding out- then the next second she was consumed in energy. Her aura surpassing any second rate witch.

The next thing he knew, he was met with a flash of red eyes and punch to the face— which immediately pushed him out of his host. That was both incredibly annoying and painful. Sure he could survive outside of a host, in the physical, human realm- but it hurt to leave on someone else's terms.

Naturally he was angered by this whole ordeal- so much so that he went out and killed witches with much more intent than before. He even burned a few at the stake, which did give him a good laugh.

He stood in the dark room contemplating all of this, fully aware that Salem's lackeys would recruit this powerful blonde- and he wasn't looking forward to dealing with that later.

"Adam," a voice spoke, causing the demon to whip his head around to face the sound's source.

When he saw who it was, Adam clenched his jaw "You." he replied curtly, trying to size up the person across from him.

"You've done as I instructed… to an extent." The person said nonchalantly, face and torso mostly shrouded in the shadows of the room. There were no windows. Adam growled in reply, beginning to unleash the red glow that characterized him so well. The voice gave a slight chuckle in reply "No need for that… Not yet anyways."

Adam made a guttural noise of annoyance before stepping back into place, body still tense, but the red aura once surrounding him had faded. The person, still hidden by the darkness, gave Adam an unsettling smirk, glad that they could keep such a powerful demon in place. "I'm glad you agree," they drawled, shifting their weight onto one leg.

"What do you want?" Adam spat masked eyes narrowing "I don't have all day."

The person just sighed, pacing back and forth, wall to wall. "From what I can understand," they started "your little stunt at Beacon Academy awakened a powerful witch." Adam nodded in reply, wringing his hands in what could possibly be described as shame.

"Of course, Salem will be sending her lackeys for her any day now, her semblance has to have something to do with demon warding..." They continued to ramble under their breath, eyes darting back and forth as they thought, before their irises rose back up to meet the location that Adam's eyes were assumed to be. "I'll make an arrangement with the witch hunters, they'll like an excuse to go after a Salem witch."

"Right..." Adam huffed before looking up and meeting the figure's gaze "What about me?"

The figure smiled "Continue what you've been doing, until we've collected enough for the next step."

Adam nodded, "Of course."

x

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By the time that their little "training session" ended, Yang had regretted every choice she had ever made. She regretted not getting a prosthetic arm, for one, as she only had one arm to block Neo's plethora of attacks. She didn't understand why Mercury's paraphrased order of "find out blondie's semblance" ended up translating through Neo's mind as "beat up blondie until she can't move."

See, Yang prided herself on being a strong fighter, she dabbled in every practice of self defense from kick-boxing to karate to wrestling, and she couldn't fathom how this tiny individual could floor her 100% of the time, even if she had a literal handicap.

"How are you even doing this?" Yang panted, blocking another one of Neo's swings "Why are you even doing this?" she added, quieter this time, before recieving an uppercut to the jaw.

After confirming that she had indeed k. Yang, Neo took to her scroll, quickly typing out a reply.

 _I channel the souls of powerful warriors :) also the devious duo said it themselves- I'm finding your semblance duhhh_

Yang frowned, pulling herself off the floor "I thought that your semblance was just, y'know, talking to ghosts." She paused "also what part of finding a semblance constitutes beating me up over and over again?" Neo rolled her eyes as she typed up a reply.

 _Seriously? that'd be a lame ass power :/_

 _Also your semblance awakened under high levels of stress, it's not like i can kill your remaining family members!_

She quickly pulled the scroll back and typed up something else up.

 _Can i?_

Yang looked up incredulously at Neo, who flapped her eyelashes pleadingly even as Yang scoffed "haha _no._ "

The blonde sighed "How do you even know it's awakened, or if it's all that great?" Neo shook her head with a smile and held up her scroll.

 _I don't, but Salem does._

Yang just groaned "Argh, you witches are all so vauge! Why don't you just tell me everything? Like why are there demons after you— us? Are you even going to bring Ruby back or is that a lie?"

 _I can bring Ruby back, it'll just take a lot of ingredients and energy. Her body is probably decayed soooo we'll have to make that again. We'll have to wait until Adam is done for._

"Will it be harder the longer we wait? I can't have anything go wrong." Yang demanded, sitting down on the bench at the far end of the room and looking up at the ceiling.

 _The best time is with a fresh body but, after that it doesn't change. i've done it before :DDD_

Yang perked up, looking at Neo with determined eyes "Really? Who? Are they the same as before they... died?" Neo puffed her cheeks out, angry that Yang was making her type out so much. The more questions you ask, the longer it'll take to answer! Why didn't the blonde get that?

 _It's a loooonnngg story Yang-a-lang :/ he's fine now._

Yang wasn't satisfied with Neo's ambiguous answer but let it be for the time being. Letting herself breathe heavily, to let out all of her exhaustion and frustration out into the air. This whole situation was strange, and if you told the Yang from that morning that this would be happening, magic and all, she would've called the cops. Because those thoughts are both crazy and deserve to be locked away. Yang was so lost in her thoughts that she almost didn't notice the door being opened.

She looked over at the door, which now greeted Emerald and Mercury, dressed far more formally than earlier. The former wore a jade green a-line dress, and her mint hair was pulled up into an intricate braid like bun fixture. The latter had clad himself in a dark dress shirt and black pants, the hair-gel he usually sported was void from his silver fringe- and it was actually far more attractive, in Yang's opinion.

Neo puffed her cheeks out again, waving her scroll right in Emerald's face. _Already?! :(_

Emerald rolled her eyes "You know I can just read your mind, right? You don't have to type that stuff out. Also yeah, it's time. You had your chance Neo."

Yang looked in between the two before looking to Mercury, puzzled expression and all. "You wanna tell me what they're going on about?" Mercury chuckled, turning to her with a smirk and a cocked eyebrow.

"If you hadn't noticed, Emmers and I are dressed way above our paygrade." He started, gesturing to his attire, before Yang interrupted him with "You get paid?"

"No, but that just backs up my point. Anyhow, you're gonna need to get dolled up." He summed up, looking halfhazardly at the two arguing girls "Because you're gonna meet Salem."

Yang's eyes bulged a bit " _What."_

Neo and Emerald turned to them, either done with the argument they were having, or had postponed it in order to explain things to Yang, as Mercury was rather blunt when it came to dropping bombshells.

Emerald nodded in response to Yang's remark "We've gotten word of more attacks by Adam. We had hoped to train your abilities naturally and over time but," she paused, now looking Yang straight in the eyes "We don't have time for that anymore, so we'll take the more risky approach. Salem hopes to forcefully bring out the power you hold. It's not ideal, but it will have to do."

When she finished, Yang clenched her fist "That wasn't the deal—" but she was cut off.

"No the deal was you join us, and help with getting rid of Adam— and we bring back your sister. You've joined, and now you have to show it. Follow our rules, and finish off Adam, and your sister? 99% guarantee we can bring her back." She spoke quickly and with such a bite on her tongue, it was probably venomous.

Yang originally had no qualms with Emerald. Cinder had a sort of a 'dark seductress' vibe, Mercury had this glint in his eyes that despite his cool demeanor, rippled with a fiery sadism that was pretty unsettling, and Neo was obviously some sort of psychopath (and she quite obviously could kill Yang in seconds). Emerald, at first, came across much less threatening. She was close with Mercury, sucked up to Cinder, and never seemed satisfied with the situation.

Now though, Yang understood why Emerald was put in charge while Cinder was away. She may have seemed opposed to everything, but she picked her battles, and when she fought them, she won. Her logic was sound.

Yang sighed and looked up at them, making eye contact with each one of them. A glare for Emerald, a confirmation for Mercury, and… She wasn't sure what she gave Neo. She was sure that Neo replied with a wink though.

"Salem it is."

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 **Author's note: Wooooo look i finished. Sorry for the late update (even though most updates are late hahaha) but i was like 3,000 words in and it all got deleted so i needed to rewrite it. And so I added a few scenes, like the Adam one, which I planned to have way way later. We'll see how that changes the story lol. I might be long again, since I'm working on a really long oneshot for my other OTP, Yang and Mercury (I mean, if you've read this, you can see the underlying struggle on not having too much of them here haha). In this fic I've resorted to making them kind of bros so. We'll see.**


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